Jack and I are big fans of the cringe-y work of director/writer Noah Baumbach, and predictably enjoyed his latest, about a Manhattan couple in their 40s who befriend a 20-something hipster couple. Ben Stiller (last blogged in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and Naomi Watts (most recently in Birdman) are wonderful as the older ones, and Adam Driver (last in Tracks) and Amanda Seyfried (most recently in A Million Ways to Die in the West) are no slouches as the kids. Charles Grodin (my favorites of his work include Catch-22 (1970), The Heartbreak Kid (1972) which was remade in 2007 with Stiller in Grodin's role, King Kong (1976), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Real Life (1979), Sunburn (1979), It's My Turn (1980), Seems Like Old Times (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), The Woman in Red (1984), Ishtar (1987), Dave (1993), and a series arc on the series Louie) joins in the second act as Watts' character's father. Interesting supporting actors include former Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz, Dree Hemingway (née Crisman, daughter of Mariel), Peter Yarrow (sans Paul and Mary), and Peter Bogdanovich.
I last wrote about Baumbach in Frances Ha!, which also featured Driver. Included in the wardrobe were were a couple of T-shirts I just loved. One says "some crappy band" and the other, "some college I didn't go to."
You can stream some of the songs on this youtube playlist but I didn't find any recordings online of the soundtrack by James Murphy (the LCD Soundsystem lead singer also scored Greenberg for Baumbach).
We did rush to see this when it was first released here about three weeks ago, but I couldn't get around to writing about it until tonight. It's still playing on a few screens but would not suffer from being seen on DVD (release is estimated for next month). Rotten Tomatoes' critics average 84% and its audiences 61. It's not for everyone but we liked it a lot.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Ex Machina (2015)
I loved this thriller about a computer programmer named Caleb, his boss Nathan, and the robot Ava, created by Nathan. Jack wasn't as blown away as I, but he did say it's "very good." This is one of those stories where you should avoid spoilers. I did not see that ending coming at all (and if anyone who has seen this movie wants to discuss the ending, which one contributor of imdb considered a "goof," email me for my theory). The cast is fantastic, with Domhnall Gleeson (last blogged in Calvary) as Caleb, Oscar Isaac (most recently in A Most Violent Year) as Nathan, and Alicia Vikander (last in Anna Karenina, which also featured Gleeson) as Ava.
This is the directing debut for screenwriter Alex Garland (profiled for Never Let Me Go, another Gleeson picture, though I failed to mention his supporting role when I wrote about it five years ago) and it's gripping. I must mention the spectacular production design, especially Nathan's residence, by Mark Digby (A Mighty Heart (2007), Never Let Me Go, and lauded for Slumdog Millionaire), as well as Rob Hardy's (The First Grader) cinematography.
Lucky for us all, the score, by Portishead's Geoff Barrow (most recently in these pages for Exit Through the Gift Shop) and Ben Salisbury, can be streamed from this link. It's appropriately trippy.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are on the same page as I am, averaging 91%, as are its audiences at 89%. Do check this out at your neighborhood big screen.
This is the directing debut for screenwriter Alex Garland (profiled for Never Let Me Go, another Gleeson picture, though I failed to mention his supporting role when I wrote about it five years ago) and it's gripping. I must mention the spectacular production design, especially Nathan's residence, by Mark Digby (A Mighty Heart (2007), Never Let Me Go, and lauded for Slumdog Millionaire), as well as Rob Hardy's (The First Grader) cinematography.
Lucky for us all, the score, by Portishead's Geoff Barrow (most recently in these pages for Exit Through the Gift Shop) and Ben Salisbury, can be streamed from this link. It's appropriately trippy.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are on the same page as I am, averaging 91%, as are its audiences at 89%. Do check this out at your neighborhood big screen.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Woman in Gold (2015)
Jack and I really liked this, based on the true story of a holocaust survivor who sued the Republic of Austria to get back the famous Gustav Klimt painting stolen from her family by the Nazis. Helen Mirren is wonderful as always as the lead and Ryan Reynolds continues to grow in his strongest dramatic role yet (lawyer Randol Schoenberg) after the mayhem of Ted, slapstick of The Change-Up and The Proposal, and posturing in the excellent Adventureland (Mirren was last blogged in The Hundred Foot Journey). Daniel Brühl (most recently in A Most Wanted Man) co-stars as their European ally, and I was happy to see Tatiana Maslany, the very talented star of the BBC-America series Orphan Black (in which she plays quite a few clones--each with different personalities, body language, and accents), as Mirren's character Maria Altmann as a young woman speaking German.
Director Simon Curtis (last blogged for My Week with Marilyn) directs from a script by actor and playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell, who adapted Altmann and Schoenberg's memoir and makes his screenwriting debut here.
Hans Zimmer (most recently scored Chappie) composed the soundtrack with Martin Phipps (new to me). Here's one song-- the album has not been released.
Once again the critics have it all wrong. Ignore their 53% on Rotten Tomatoes and instead heed the audiences' 86%...and us! See it on the big screen if possible.
Director Simon Curtis (last blogged for My Week with Marilyn) directs from a script by actor and playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell, who adapted Altmann and Schoenberg's memoir and makes his screenwriting debut here.
Hans Zimmer (most recently scored Chappie) composed the soundtrack with Martin Phipps (new to me). Here's one song-- the album has not been released.
Once again the critics have it all wrong. Ignore their 53% on Rotten Tomatoes and instead heed the audiences' 86%...and us! See it on the big screen if possible.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Danny Collins (2014)
Jack and I thoroughly enjoyed this story of an aging pop star coming to grips with reality. Al Pacino is wonderful in the title role, a character blending the worst of Neil Diamond and Leonard Cohen. I haven't seen Pacino in a movie since I began the blog in 2008, so I'll run though my favorites here: Godfathers (1972, 1974, 1990), Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), ...And Justice for All. (1979), Cruising (1980), Scarface (1983), Sea of Love (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Scent of a Woman (1992) which earned him his only Oscar win, Donnie Brasco (1997), Devil's Advocate (1997), Any Given Sunday (1999), Insomnia (2002), S1m0ne (2002), and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). It was fun to see old photos of Danny that we recognized as stills from some of Pacino's work. Annette Bening (last blogged in Girl Most Likely) made us smile as the practical hotel manager, the always reliable Bobby Cannavale (most recently in Annie) didn't make us smile but is very strong as Danny's son, Jennifer Garner (last in Men, Women & Children) is good in her few scenes as Danny's daughter-in-law, and we liked Christopher Plummer (most recently in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Danny's manager. Josh Peck and Melissa Benoist (The Wackness and Whiplash, respectively) are cute as hotel employees and little Giselle Eisenberg is adorable as Danny's hyperactive granddaughter.
This is the directorial debut of Dan Fogelman, who wrote The Guilt Trip which we didn't like, Last Vegas, Crazy, Stupid Love., and this, which we did.
In 1971 John Lennon wrote a letter, including his personal phone number, to a young English musician named Steve Tilston, but Tilston didn't get it until 2005, 25 years after Lennon's death. Fogelman based his story on that (here's an article) but fictionalized the character, as Tilston achieved no kind of fame (have you heard of him? Neither had I). One of the marvelous things about this movie is that Yoko Ono permitted many of Lennon's songs to be used in the soundtrack (another article), which is rare. I can't find an actual song listing. Sorry!
Another fun fact is that the stadium scene was shot during the intermission of a concert by the band Chicago at Los Angeles' Greek Theater (here's someone's phone video) after the audience was coached (other footage was cut into the movie later). Pacino then joined the band onstage for the beginning of the second set (more video).
Rotten Tomatoes' critics come in at 77 and its audiences at 81. We liked it a lot and so have most of our friends.
This is the directorial debut of Dan Fogelman, who wrote The Guilt Trip which we didn't like, Last Vegas, Crazy, Stupid Love., and this, which we did.
In 1971 John Lennon wrote a letter, including his personal phone number, to a young English musician named Steve Tilston, but Tilston didn't get it until 2005, 25 years after Lennon's death. Fogelman based his story on that (here's an article) but fictionalized the character, as Tilston achieved no kind of fame (have you heard of him? Neither had I). One of the marvelous things about this movie is that Yoko Ono permitted many of Lennon's songs to be used in the soundtrack (another article), which is rare. I can't find an actual song listing. Sorry!
Another fun fact is that the stadium scene was shot during the intermission of a concert by the band Chicago at Los Angeles' Greek Theater (here's someone's phone video) after the audience was coached (other footage was cut into the movie later). Pacino then joined the band onstage for the beginning of the second set (more video).
Rotten Tomatoes' critics come in at 77 and its audiences at 81. We liked it a lot and so have most of our friends.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Goodbye to Language (Adieu au langage - 2014)
The latest picture from revered 84-year-old director/writer Jean-Luc Godard also bids adieu to plot and structure. Jack and I were puzzled. Twice two people walk away from each other, and one appears in the right eye of the 3D glasses and the other in the left. Interesting, but not comfortable. I was tired that evening and was already having trouble focusing on the 3D. At that point I began from time to time closing each eye alternately.
As we walked into the special screening we were handed A.O Scott's review from The New York Times. It said the dog (Godard's own) would figure prominently. It didn't.
Reading through Godard's credits (his 38 wins and 39 nominations include an honorary Oscar in 2011) I thought I would know more than just Breathless (1960) and Masculin Féminin (1966) but it appears I have Godard mixed up with François Truffaut, who wrote the former and worked many times with Jean-Pierre Léaud, who starred in the latter. It looks like Godard said goodbye to traditional linear storytelling a long time ago. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This just wasn't our tasse de thé, which puts us in agreement with Rotten Tomatoes' audiences at 51%, rather than its critics at 84.
In two weeks this movie will be released on 3D Blu-ray DVDs. If you possess the hardware, have at it.
As we walked into the special screening we were handed A.O Scott's review from The New York Times. It said the dog (Godard's own) would figure prominently. It didn't.
Reading through Godard's credits (his 38 wins and 39 nominations include an honorary Oscar in 2011) I thought I would know more than just Breathless (1960) and Masculin Féminin (1966) but it appears I have Godard mixed up with François Truffaut, who wrote the former and worked many times with Jean-Pierre Léaud, who starred in the latter. It looks like Godard said goodbye to traditional linear storytelling a long time ago. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This just wasn't our tasse de thé, which puts us in agreement with Rotten Tomatoes' audiences at 51%, rather than its critics at 84.
In two weeks this movie will be released on 3D Blu-ray DVDs. If you possess the hardware, have at it.
'71 (2014)
After watching this violent story of a British soldier during "The Troubles" in Belfast between the IRA and the Brits, several in my group commented we were glad not to have seen it alone nor at night (we went on Sunday morning). It's hard to watch. I had to put my hand up to block the screen several times to avoid the most disturbing shots. Jack O'Connell (I didn't see Unbroken--he starred in it, among others) is the hero, Gary Hook (fictitious), leading a cast of dozens, all unfamiliar to me. Speaking of which I wasn't the only one of the group who wished we had familiarized ourselves in advance with the history of the 1971 conflict. That said, we did get sorted out as the movie unfolded.
Director Yann Demange (a British TV director) and screenwriter Gregory Burke (an acclaimed Scottish playwright) make their feature debuts, winning for this picture several awards and nominated for more in the United Kingdom and Europe.
The music by Belfast native David Holmes (Ocean's Eleven (2001), Analyze That (2002), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), Haywire, more) is good and can be sampled from this link, with a couple of lines from the movie introducing it. Also, here's an article about the composer for those who are interested.
With the intermittent use of handheld camera operators running after people, the movie is likely to induce motion picture motion sickness in those susceptible. Here's my ongoing list of MPMS movies.
I don't take issue with the critics at Rotten Tomatoes whose review average 97% to its audiences' 84. But it's not for the faint of heart.
Director Yann Demange (a British TV director) and screenwriter Gregory Burke (an acclaimed Scottish playwright) make their feature debuts, winning for this picture several awards and nominated for more in the United Kingdom and Europe.
The music by Belfast native David Holmes (Ocean's Eleven (2001), Analyze That (2002), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), Haywire, more) is good and can be sampled from this link, with a couple of lines from the movie introducing it. Also, here's an article about the composer for those who are interested.
With the intermittent use of handheld camera operators running after people, the movie is likely to induce motion picture motion sickness in those susceptible. Here's my ongoing list of MPMS movies.
I don't take issue with the critics at Rotten Tomatoes whose review average 97% to its audiences' 84. But it's not for the faint of heart.
Monday, March 23, 2015
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
So silly! I was glad we made an exception to our no vampire movies rule because this farce of a mock-umentary about a group of vampires in modern day Wellington, New Zealand, is damn funny. Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, last in Men in Black 3) and Taika Waititi (directed four episodes of Conchords, wrote two) together direct, wrote, and star as Vladislav and Viago. Also making a cameo is Rhys Darby, who had a cameo in Pirate Radio and played the manager in Conchords.
The music is by Plan 9 (David Donaldson, Steve Roche, and Janet Roddick), also from New Zealand. This is their website and the whole raucous soundtrack can be streamed here.
We decided to go because of Clement and rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, averaging 96% from critics and 88 from audiences. Its release is fairly limited. If you watch it at home, be sure to get the room really dark. Vampires can't handle much light!
The music is by Plan 9 (David Donaldson, Steve Roche, and Janet Roddick), also from New Zealand. This is their website and the whole raucous soundtrack can be streamed here.
We decided to go because of Clement and rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, averaging 96% from critics and 88 from audiences. Its release is fairly limited. If you watch it at home, be sure to get the room really dark. Vampires can't handle much light!
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